I recently found a good panoramic photo stitching software that seems to work really well. It's called Autostitch and it's free. And pretty easy to use. It automatically straightens and balances the exposure, and I think it corrects barrel distortion. Here is as example of my recent trip to Black Rock in the Shenandoah National Park:

From Austin Mt-Furnace Mt Hike SNP

I used the panoramic assist program mode in my Nikon P50 which helps you overlap about 20% of the frame and line up the horizon. I have not used it with my D100 and a tripod, but I will show you an example soon, so stay tuned.

Travel Blog Coming Soon.

Tom and I got back from our trip Monday, but since then we have been be very busy. I have been spending my spare time working on the 1000+ photos we took. I have also re-immersed myself completely in working out. The hiking on this trip made me realize how out of shape I am, and how much I need to improve before our trip to New Zealand. That also means losing 25 pounds in 25 weeks, which is quite doable, trips to the gym almost every day, and hiking every weekend.

Check back soon for my travel blog. I journaled every day of the trip, so you will all get accurate first-hand accounts of our activities. Unlike my everglades trip where I tried to make a blog post of every day of the trip, I will be splitting it up into one blog per section: Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, and Craters of the Moon.

In the mean time, please check out all of my hard work at my web album for photos. Add comments too. If you have a google account, please add me as a "favorite." This is done by clicking on "Add to Favorites" in the top of the right column under "Photos by Jennifer." If you do this I will feel like a million bucks with a fan base, and you can get updates when I add new photos.

Day 2
Some of our group arrives late due to delayed flights. Most have been up since 4am eastern, and some have not slept at all. I am just grateful that Tom and I were able to take an extra day from work to arrive the day before and meet the group refreshed and ready to go. Jere stays behind to meet Joe and the other late ones. The rest of us climb into the other two rental vehicles and head the our campsite at Coulter Village in Grand Teton NP. Along the way we stop for groceries.

Our first view of the Tetons. From Grand Tetons NP

After talking to my parents on the phone, I decide to attempt to fix my camera. So I borrow a needle-nose plyer multi-tool from Clement and while waiting for lunch, I bend it back. Not too hard. And the exposure seems correct. Crisis averted.

West, Phase 1 - Grand Tetons

We traveled with a nice group of 12 people from the Outdoor Adventure Social Club of Charlottesville. Pete was our leader and did a great job planning. We visited Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park, and Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho.

Day 1 - Friday July 24, 2009
Drive to Richmond. Fly to Salt Lake City via Houston. No delays, but does not matter too much because we arrive a day early before the rest of the group. Spend the night in a nice hotel.

While taking pictures out the window of the plane, I discover that my camera is not working. I must have put my new heavy lens on wrong because the aperture lever on the body is not working. I try to bend it back by hand but nothing is working. I don't have a multi-tool with pliers, but even if I did I am too afraid to attempt self-repair that I might inflict irreparable damage. I am thinking that I need to send it back to Nikon, which would mean I have 10 pounds of dead weight to carry around for 10 days of travel. Luckily I have a back-up point-and-shoot camera, but it is just not the same.